Rockford IceHogs beat Barons at home

ROCKFORD — On the Rockford IceHogs’ holiday check list, beating the Oklahoma City Barons at BMO Harris Bank Center had to rank at or near the top.

That’s because they never had done so. Until Friday.

Rockford had been 0-6-1-0 at home against Oklahoma City until topping the Barons 4-3 before a turnout of 3,359.

It wasn’t easy. Naturally.

“I didn’t realize the stats until I read the game notes,” Rockford head coach Ted Dent said. “They’re always a good team, with a good penalty kill. I thought we played a pretty good game tonight.

“Still, I think we have another level we can get to.”

The numbers certainly favored Rockford. It hasn’t lost this season scoring first (9-0-2-0), leading after the first (7-0-1-0) or second periods (7-0-2-0) – and Oklahoma City now is 0-12-0-0 trailing after two.

And Rockford scored not only the first goal but the first two. It led 3-2 after one and 4-3 after 40 minutes.

Brandon Pirri (1:24) and Brad Winchester (3:13) put Rockford up 2-0 before the Barons could chuck a puck on net toward goalie Mac Carruth. Garret Ross made it 3-1 at 11:45.

Oklahoma City eventually tied it 3-3, only to have Winchester restore the lead 4-3 at 11:41 of the second with his eighth tally of the season.

“The first (goal) was a really good shot by Vik (Viktor Svedberg),” Winchester said. “He was able to get the puck to the net. As a forward, you look for that opportunity to tip good shots, and that was a great shot.

“The second one, (Mark) McNeill was going to the net, and I was able to put it inside the far post.”

Rockford’s late one-goal advantage held up despite having its last-ranked penalty kill be called on twice in the final 4:33.

“It was good,” Dent said. “With (Linus) Omark, they have a real good power play, and he’s a nice player. It’s best to just neutralize him and keep the puck out of his hands.”

The ’Hogs thus held on to hand Carruth his first AHL win, as he made 27 saves.

“It was my third AHL game. Was I awful the first period? No. Was I great at all? No,” he said. “But I thought as the game went on I got better and felt more comfortable, and I know I can play at this level.”

Notes: Tonight’s game will be the second of four meetings between the two teams and the last at home. … Rockford had allowed a third-period goal in eight straight games before stopping the Barons. … There was no update available after the game on Viktor Svedberg’s apparent lower-body injury. He had to be aided off the ice late in the second period. … Rockford has garnered points in four straight games and six of seven. The Barons are on a 2-6-0-2 stretch. … The Barons bounced back to win both previous times after they were shut out this season. But not this time after being blanked in Milwaukee on Thursday.